SHEBOYGAN, WI – Three City of Sheboygan aldermen will present a resolution this week to explore whether money from an $8 million Department of Public Works vehicle maintenance fund could be used to finance other city programs, according to the Sheboygan Press. In the resolution scheduled to be presented to the council, the Common Council’s motor vehicle, finance, and public works committees would be instructed to examine the fund and recommend what, if any, money from it could be spent elsewhere.

The vehicle maintenance fund was created in the 1980s to fund capital equipment purchases for the Public Works Department, and it is funded by vehicle rental fees. The magnitude of the fund became an issue several weeks ago when the Sheboygan County Taxpayers Alliance suggested the city could tap into the fund to finance part or all of the city’s new police station.

The Common Council voted last year to build the new police station on 2.7 acres of land. Current plans call for a 32,000-square-foot station and a steel-framed parking facility up to 20,000 square feet, with a total budget of up to $8.8 million.

The vehicle maintenance fund takes in approximately $525,000 in service fees and interest annually, and public works’ yearly equipment expenditures average between $600,000 and $700,000 annually, according to the Sheboygan Press.